Here is a simple game of Tic-Tac-Toe. For this version of the game, the board is always located in a different place, off-trail, and in the woods. And it’s a bit of a hike to get there. The first three players on each team have the same colored bean bag and the tic-tac-toe board is located far way. It’s a relay race. If there is not a winner at the end of 3 plays (there usually isn’t), then the 4th runner can move one of their own team’s bean bags. It’s one of those games that makes you think, too.
Other fun, active nature games are:
- Sardines, where one person goes and hides and the others have to find them. (The hider often spends at least 5 minutes sitting still and quiet often huddled in a very nature-laden spot. Once a student told me that he was lying so still and quiet, that a squirrel came very close to him that he had to move to scare it away!)
- Hide and Go Seek Tag (Or Hide and Go Seek Zombie Tag)
- Capture the Flag (Multiple flags, no jail (tagged person just has to go back to their side)
- Eagle Eye, Stick Drag, and many other games from the Activities section of the book, Coyote’s Guide to Connecting with Nature by Jon Young, Ellen Haas, and Evan McGown
- And more…
- What are your favorite movement-oriented games that get kids active and playing while relating to nature off-trail?
Outdoor Learning with Weslie 